“I’ve found that if I pick the right primary sources…[I can make the lesson more accessible]. For example, I just gave some students an evacuation poster (after Order 9066 [–forcing Japanese relocation to camps]) that was selected for its minimal text which was heavy on vocabulary they would know or be able to figure out […]

The passage of the Social Security Act is a watershed event in the changing role of the US government. It is history with personal relevance to the many students whose home supports are affected by the US Social Security system, including some students with disabilities. Emerging America has been collecting lesson plans that address Disability […]

Engaging ALL students in history and social studies education means not only using inclusive practices, but not overlooking the impact of historical changes and events on people with disabilities, and the impact people with disabilities have had on history. Ten lessons on History of People with Disabilities that address the new Massachusetts standards for History […]

Who gets accepted as a citizen or as an immigrant? Who is considered a desirable immigrant? This lesson plan examines the arrival of newcomers and the history of the entry process. Students use primary source images and texts to investigate the answer to this question for Ellis Island in the 1900s and then present evidence […]

This lesson guides students in exploring the Great Depression of 1920-1940 with a focus on the Dust Bowl, Migrant Workers, and the status of people with disabilities during this time period. The lesson is conceived as a research project in preparation for reading John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice and Men”, and could also be an […]

This lesson invites students to wonder about what life was like as a disabled WWI veteran. The lesson provides materials and instructions for guiding students in analysis of primary source materials that include a song about shell shock, a cartoon contrasting wounded veterans with rich profiteers, Red Cross posters, and a photograph highlighting life-changing war […]

Incurring a disability at work was a common occurrence of the Industrial Revolution. In this lesson, students will explore how such injuries impacted the lives of workers in an era before many public and private supports that we take for granted today. This lesson integrates disability history into a much larger 14-day unit on the […]

Nellie Bly’s account of her experience as an inmate at an asylum as an undercover journalist offers a gripping entry point into the history of mental health care reform and a discussion of how people in need of care should be treated. In this lesson, students explore several primary sources addressing the treatment of people […]

Accessing Inquiry, Emerging America’s initiative dedicated to supporting good teaching for ALL learners, has newly expanded online resources, and a new web page, Classroom Materials for Accessibility. The new page has links to resources for accessible curriculum, primary sources for immigration history disability history alignment of immigration and disability topics within common grade 4-10 […]

Lesson activities on the first day of instruction include analyzing notable primary source images from the Great Depression including Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” and classifying quotes from Esperanza Rising into categories based on the characters thoughts and feelings regarding the economic conditions of the era. On the second day of activities students revisit quotes from […]